Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Tropical moths in the mountains are larger
Researchers from three universities have measured more than 19,000 tropical moths from 1,100 species to find out whether their size varies with elevation. Scientists from Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena (Germany) worked on...
Artificial intelligence aids automatic monitoring of single molecules in cells
To understand the mechanisms by which molecules act in cells, or the effects of drugs on them, it would be ideal to be able to track individual molecules, including where...
Deforestation down 57% in the winter habitat of Mexican monarch butterflies
Deforestation in the core zone of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico decreased by 57.6 per cent, from 15.8 hectares lost during the 2016-2017 period to to 6.7 hectares in...
How Accurate Are Online DNA Tests?
Geneticist and author Adam Rutherford examines the evidence -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
The Goldilocks principle in biology—fine-tuning the 'just right' signal load
In the fairy tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," Goldilocks invades the bears' house, where she finds three bowls of porridge, but only one has just the right temperature. Similarly,...
How nectar bats fly nowhere
Exquisitely sensitive tech makes first direct measurements of the forces of bat wingbeats.
Buckethead the bear cub's head freed from jar after three days
Rangers in Maryland help "Buckethead", three days after it is spotted with a plastic jar on its head.
Aussie same-sex penguin 'couple' tickled pink by foster egg
Two male penguins who have paired up as a "same-sex couple" have become so good at nesting that zookeepers in Sydney have given them a real egg to look after.
New Zealand votes tipsy pigeon bird of the year
A love for fermented fruit means the kereru can get tipsy at times, falling out of trees.
Human and cattle decoys trap malaria mosquitoes outdoors
Host decoy traps which mimic humans or cattle by combining odour, heat and a conspicuous visual stimulus could be effective at measuring and controlling outdoor-biting mosquitoes in malaria endemic regions,...
China purrs over white tiger triplets
Three playful white Bengal tiger cubs are charming visitors as they clamber around their enclosure at a zoo in China.
Dimerization quality control ensures neuronal development and survival
Aberrant complex formation by recurrent interaction modules, such as BTB domains, leucine zippers, or coiled coils, can disrupt signal transduction, yet whether cells detect and eliminate complexes of irregular composition...
Discovery of widespread type I and type V CRISPR-Cas inhibitors
Bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems protect their host from bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements. Mobile elements, in turn, encode various anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins to inhibit the immune function of CRISPR-Cas. To...
Systematic discovery of natural CRISPR-Cas12a inhibitors
Cas12a (Cpf1) is a CRISPR-associated nuclease with broad utility for synthetic genome engineering, agricultural genomics, and biomedical applications. Although bacteria harboring CRISPR-Cas9 or CRISPR-Cas3 adaptive immune systems sometimes acquire mobile...
Genome hypermobility by lateral transduction
Genetic transduction is a major evolutionary force that underlies bacterial adaptation. Here we report that the temperate bacteriophages of Staphylococcus aureus engage in a distinct form of transduction we term...
Homology, neocortex, and the evolution of developmental mechanisms
The six-layered neocortex of the mammalian pallium has no clear homolog in birds or non-avian reptiles. Recent research indicates that although these extant amniotes possess a variety of divergent and...
Microglia and early brain development: An intimate journey
Cross-talk between the nervous and immune systems has been well described in the context of adult physiology and disease. Recent advances in our understanding of immune cell ontogeny have revealed...
Glia as architects of central nervous system formation and function
Glia constitute roughly half of the cells of the central nervous system (CNS) but were long-considered to be static bystanders to its formation and function. Here we provide an overview...
Neuronal specification in space and time
To understand how neurons assemble to form functional circuits, it is necessary to obtain a detailed knowledge of their diversity and to define the developmental specification programs that give rise...
Baby mice produced from 2 moms, no dad
Chinese researchers using gene editing and stem cell technology say they've bred healthy mice using two mothers — with no male mouse.
'Enormous breakthrough' for great white shark expedition off Nova Scotia
Ocearch is wrapping up its controversial shark-tagging efforts for the year, but is already pondering a return to Nova Scotia in 2019.
Investors rush to patent genetically modified cannabis molecules
Biotechnology companies and drug producers are trying to isolate and patent the active chemicals in cannabis, potentially creating new medicines. That has critics raising "bio piracy" fears, as the once-illicit...
Metal secrets of CO2-converting enzyme revealed
Studying oxygen-resistant carbon monoxide dehydrogenase could lead to carbon-capture technologies
Mushroomlike nanowires form superstretchy conductive films
A vertical alignment allows gold nanowires to stay in contact even when stretched
Cancer target binds RNA and its mirror image
Degradation-resistant l-RNA could be used to develop anticancer therapeutics
Jnana Therapeutics tries to take on an untapped class of proteins
With $50 million in funding, the start-up is taking the lead in drugging solute carrier proteins
Periodic Graphics: The chemistry of Venus flytraps
Chemical educator and Compound Interest blogger Andy Brunning highlights the molecules exploited by the carnivorous plant to lure, catch, and digest its prey
What bees did during the Great American Eclipse
A rare study of bees during a total solar eclipse finds that the insects buzzed around as usual — until totality.